Dome managing director Nigel Oakey is excited to open the building that will include a wine bar, cafe and hotel.
The Dome Cafe Group is taking the Shamrock Hotel back to its roots.
The building opened as a general store in 1861, and through the influence of George Throssell, it quickly became a flourishing hotel known as The Farmer’s Home – which will soon be known as the Farmer’s Home Hotel.
Dome has been going through a similar process in Katanning, restoring the old flour mill into a cafe, wine bar and a ‘small inn’ of 15 to 20 rooms.
Dome managing director Nigel Oakey said the group had hired a full-time professional historian to discover the buildings’ history.
“When we started on this journey and realised we were playing with landmark buildings that were inextricably linked with the stories of the towns and how they grew and developed, it kind of made sense to us to do something that most retailers don’t do,” he said.
“It has been fun unearthing that and being able to tell the story."
Mr Oakey said the building developed from a small hut into the Federation Hotel that it is now.
“The families that were connected with the building are extraordinary – we’re talking about people like Forrest, Monger and Throssell.
“It is a really interesting story about the pioneering spirit of Western Australia – and we want to tell that story.”
The building will be open seven days a week and will include a wine bar that will open from 6pm till midnight, a Dome Cafe that will open from 6am to 9pm and a boutique hotel with 16 rooms.
“We are working with some clever architects to ensure the accommodation really is first class in terms of its quality, design and aesthetic,” Mr Oakey said.
He said The Farmer’s Home Hotel was set to open in the next eight months.
A town hall meeting will be held in the new year to provide the community with an opportunity to meet with developers face-to-face and help with the research process that is currently underway.
“Between towns like Northam, Narrogin, Katanning and all the way down to Albany. "That road – The Northam to Albany road – tells the story of our state's early industrialised history,” said Mr Oakey.
“If people dont have trusted places to stay and places where they can feel with confidence that they can make a trip from 6am in the morning until 10pm at night, then they won't start exploring.
“Investing in these towns and people will be able to join the dots and make trips to places that many people didn't know existed.”
